U.S.-Czech Research: Competing Visions of Development of Rural Areas

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The goal of this U.S.-Czech research project between J. Sanford Rikoon of the University of Missouri Columbia and Miloslav Lapka of the Institute of Landscape Ecology, in Ceske Budejovice, is to strengthen the theoretical foundation required for comparative analysis of new rural development programs, particularly in marginal regions characterized by low performance on standard economic and quality-of-life-indicators. This will be accomplished by bringing together a team of senior and junior U.S. and Czech researchers with complementary expertise in political ecology, landscape studies, and spatial analysis. The U.S. -Czech team will undertake a study of U.S. and Central European rural areas, with an interdisciplinary approach that examines political, economic, socio-cultural and ecological variables. Results are expected to blend phenomenological and empirical research in innovative ways to refine a decision framework that incorporates local and community level perspectives for more effective and realistic local and regional development planning. Success would enhance our analysis of alternative schemes and improve our understanding of the beneficial influence that competing visions expressed by local individuals and communities can have in resource development decisions. This interdisciplinary project fulfills the program objective of advancing scientific knowledge by enabling experts in the United States and Central Europe to combine complementary talents and share research resources in areas of strong mutual interest and competence. Broader impacts include the early career exposure of U.S. student participants to cooperative research abroad that may lead to future partnering with European counterparts on topics of global importance such as sustainability, tourism development, and rural economic strategies.